COVINGTON, Ga. — The Newton County Sheriff’s Office partnered with ACTION Inc. to provide inmate residents housed at the Newton County Detention Center with the opportunity to gain industrial associates certification through the Industrial Development program.
The Industrial Development program, which is a workforce-based program, is grant-funded and provides inmate residents with on-site training for rigging, cranes, forklift operation, aerial lift, OSHA 10, CPR/First Aid/AED, and Sigma 6. After the completion of training, inmate residents are provided with 12 months of mentored coaching and employment search and placement assistance.
In December, Sheriff Ezell Brown and the Newton County Sheriff’s Office graduated its first class of seven inmate residents from the Industrial Development program.
“A major factor when considering recidivism is finding a job post-release. Our workforce development program prepares inmate residence for the day they are released from our facility,” Brown said. “Employment is always a key part of a successful reentry after incarceration. The programs offered by our detention center provide a structural transitional period for the offenders returning to the community, with the intent of better preparing them for a successful crime-free life. Through our programs, the inmate residents have gone back into the community and are now thriving, productive citizens.”
The Newton County Sheriff’s Office provides a wide variety of reentry programs, such as Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT), General Education Development (GED), Soft Skills Development, Substance Abuse Matrix Model, Anger Management, Alcohol Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous, Double Trouble, Thinking for Change, Celebrate Recovery, Parenting Value, Fatherhood, Creating Healthy Options Increases Choices to Effective Solutions (CHOICES), #1 Dads, Industrial Development, Moral Resonation Therapy (MRT), Money Management, Yoga, Inner Circle: A Treatment Alternative for Safe Communities (TASC), Parenting, Plan of Action, Reformers Unanimous (RU) Recovery, Identification Pursuit, and Beyond Trauma: A healing journey for women.
In 2021, more than 25 Newton County inmate residents returned to society with employment opportunities.
